Metallic supporting structure



Jan. 12, 1943. J. R. TENCH METALLIC SUPPORTING STRUCTURE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 23, 1940 BRIDGE Dim 6 R O E T N 0v 2% mw 1 ad. on U WW ?w #w Patented Jan. 12, 1943 UNHTED STATES, PATET OFFICE,

METALLIC SUPPORTING STRUCTURE John R. Tench, Tarrytown, N. Y., assignor to Structural Patents -Crporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application March 23, 1940, Serial No. 325,532

' 3 Claims.

The present invention has for its principal object the production of a metallic structure adapted for use as a bridge decking, grating, such, for instance, as a sidewalk grating or other analogous structures adapted to resist force applied under compression and to sustain heavy loads, the structure being such as will permit it to be manufactured with expedition and facility and with a minimum of expense.

A further object of the invention is the production of a structure of the character above described which, preferably, shall be made up of standard parts easily procurab-le thereby making unnecessary the special manufacture of parts with its attendant expense and the delays incident to the procuring of such parts.

A further object of the invention is the production of a metallic structure having the above characteristics which shall be of great strength and particularly resistant to buckling while at the same time retaining its stability.

To the above ends the invention consists in the improved metallic structure hereinafter more particularly described and then specified in the claims.

Referring in detail to the accompanying drawings showing a practical embodiment of the invention:

Fig. l is a fragmentary perspective view of the structure of the invention when employed as a bridge decking.

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the invention employed as a sidewalk grating.

Fig. 3 is a perspective View showing the manner of connecting Or joining sections of the structure together.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of One of the ends of Fig. 9 is a front elevation of one of the bearing members.

According to the invention I employ channels as the bearing bars or members for the structure.

These channel members are spaced from each other and are set on end and comprise webs or bodies having laterally extended upper and lower legs connected to or integral with the upper and lower ends respectively of the webs. These legs are of substantial width, the lower ones acting as supports for the structure and adding to its strength and stability, while the upper ones support crossing members which, in thepreferred form of the invention, may be ordinary metal plates or bars of standard size and construction.

The channel members as will be apparent from an inspection of the drawings may be conventionally rolled channels of standard construction provide an anti-skid or anti-slip tread. I have also made provision for locking the interconnected bearing bars and crossing bars together bynovel and. simple means and have also provided novel means for joining sections of the structure together, it being obvious that it would not be practicable or feasible to form a complete structure having sufiicient length to permit it to be used commercially.

In the accompanying drawings showing a practical embodiment of the invention:

Reference numeral lit indicates longitudinal stringers forming, for instance, the conventional stringers employed in a bridge construction while ll indicates the cross stringers which support a bridge decking and in this case the bridge decking of the invention. Said cross stringers are located at spaced intervals on said longitudinal stringers to connect them together. They are fastened to said longitudinal stringers in any desirable manner as by bolting, riveting or welding, etc. The webs or bodies of the channels forming the bearing members are indicated at E2 and these webs are provided at their ends with upper and lower,

laterally extending legs l3 and M respectively which may be and preferably are integral with the webs. Said channels are set on end in spaced relation to each other and are supported by the heads of the cross stringers H to which some or all of the lower legs M of the bearing members may be fastened in any desirable manner. It will be noted that the upper sides of the lower legs M are inclined downwardly from the vertical so that they resist any tendency to retain snow, rain, dust, dirt or any other foreign matter thereon.

The upper legs l3 of the channels are slotted as at [5 (see Fig. 9) and these slots extend downwardly within the webs l2 and are received by slots [6 (see Fig. 8) in transverse crossing merry bers or bars I! which crossing members may be plates of standard size and constructions as is mentioned hereinbefore. These slots permit the bearing members and crossing members to be conveniently interlocked together as will be obvious.

The members may be held from disengagement one with the other in transit by a tight frictional engagement.

. The slots described are of such depth as will permit the upper ends of the crossing members I! to lie in a horizontal plane slightly above the although the others of said bearing bars may extend generally in the same direction. Said outermost members are provided with slots IS in alignment with the crossing=members IT. The ends of the crossing members I! arejcut away at an angle, as at I9, to form receiving recesses and to provide tongues 2| to engage and snugly interfit within the slots I9 in the outer bearin members to which they maybe welded or riveted. The recesses l9 so-formed by the said cut away portions are adapted to receive the inwardly extending legs H3 at the upper ends of the outermost bearing bars or members l8 and conform to theinclination or other configuration of the undersides of said legs which fit snugly therein. By this construction the legs I8 are arranged tooverlie and protect the tongues and brace them against downward pressures or any stresses or strains tending to cause relative upward and downward movementsof the crossing and bearing members. The recesses [9 also provide for the reception of the legs [8 so that such legs may lie in the same horizontal plane as the legs I301 'the inner bearing. members andallow the upper edges of the body portions of thecrossing mem- I l-of the intermediate'bearing: bars tothe crossstringers H- or to -other supports, the fastening thereto, or to-some of them, of thelower legs of the outermost channels IB- only being necessary. When said outermost channels are so fastened, itis manifest that it is notpossible to disengage the intermediate channels from saidcross stringers or other supports or to disengage the transverse bars II from theslots 5in-saidintermediate channels. This eliminatesa number of fasteningdevices or weldswhich'otherwise might be found necessary.

The completed metallic structure for use-as a bridge decking or sidewalk grating-is preferably made of a plurality of sections. or units of the characterv described.- These units may be conveniently connected together by placing themend toend and then joiningadjacent ends of the units by means'of connecting channels 22- of a size and configuration permitting them-to interfit snugly with the outermost channels I8 of the units. (See Fig. 3.) connected to the adjacent outermost channels 18 by means of bolts orrivetsv 23' passingthrough the webs of the channels l8 and 22.

The channels 22 are then plied to a sidewalk grating. The metallic structure per se is similar to that previously described but the supports therefor consist of angle bars 24 and horizontal flanges of which support the bearing bars and some or all of the lower legs 14 of which are connected to said horizontal flanges in any desirable manner.

The metallic structure hereinbefore described has such strength and stability and the bearing members thereof are so resistant to buckling, it will be found that a much less number of bearing bars are necessary than are necessary in analogous structures of which I have knowledge thereby decreasing the weight of the structure and also decreasing the expense of necessary material. It will also be found that in the case of bridge deckings a less number of cross stringers II will be necessary when the present invention is employed than have been found necessary in previous bridge constructions to thus appreciably decrease the expense of such constructions.

The invention claimed is:

1. A metallic'structure comprising spacedinner bearing members set on end and having laterally extending legs at their upper ends arranged in the same-horizontal plane with the upper portion of each of said inner bearing members including its leg being provided with a slot therein, a plurality of spaced crossing members provided with slots extending within the slots in the inner hearing members to detachably connect the bearing members and crossing members together, said crossing members having their upper edges extending above the plane of said legsand'being provided with tongues at their ends disposed ,below the plane of their upper edges, and outer bearing members provided with slots in the bodies thereof receiving said tonguesat the ends of the crossing members to retain them in inter-engagement with the bearing members and having-im wardly extending lateral legs arranged in the same plane as the legs of the inner bearing members and overhanging said tongues.

2. A metallic grating structure comprising spaced inner and outer bearing members disposed in parallel-relation and set on end, each inner bearing member being provided at its upper end with a laterally extending leg and having a vertical slot opening at its upper end through said 1 leg, and each outer member being provided with a laterally extending leg directed inwardlytherefrom toward the adjacent inner leg and having a keeper slot formed therein below said leg, the legs of all-of said members being arranged. in

the same horizontal plane, and spaced parallel crossing members seated in said slots in the inner bearing members and having their'upper edges cutaway-at their ends toprovide tongues engaging the slots in the outer bearing members and recesses above said tongues receiving the inwardly directed legs oi'theouter bearingmembers whereby the tongues are overlapped by said legs of the outer bearin members, the arrangement of the slots, tongues and recesses being such as to support the crossing members with the upper edges of their body portions projecting above the horizontal plane of the legs'of said inner and outer bearing members to form antiskid projections.

3. A metallic grating structure comprising spaced inner and-outer bearing members disposed inparallel relation and set on end, each inner bearing-member being provided atits upper end with a laterally extending leg integral therewith In Fig. 2 I have shown theinvention as arrand having a vertical'slotopening'at its'upper the keeper slots in the outer bearing members and recesses above said tongues receiving the inwardly directed legs of the outer bearing members whereby said tongues are overlapped by said legs of said outer bearing members, the arrangement of the slots, tongues and recesses being such as to support the crossing members and lock them to said outer bearing members and preventtheir disengagement from said inner bearing members.

JOHN R. TENCH. 

